BABSON PARK, Mass.—Junior Lexi Linafelter (Vail, Colo.) led all players with 12 kills and senior Lucy Ambach (Garden City, N.Y.) finished with three solo blocks and seven block assists to help visiting Middlebury College defeat No. 23 Babson College in four sets, 25-16, 23-25, 25-19, 25-14, to open the New England Challenge on Friday night inside Staake Gymnasium.

Babson, which suffered its first home loss the year, is now 19-3 overall, while Middlebury improves to 12-7 on the year with its fourth consecutive victory.

Senior Laura Zuloaga (Naples, Fla.) and Martina Jankovic Chin (Zapresic, Croatia) both recorded nine kills, while first-year Isabella Allen (Williamsville, N.Y.) added eight to pace a balanced Beavers' attack. Junior Lauren Gips (Orlando, Fla.), who totaled a season-high six blocks, and senior Jordan Lapins (Calgary, Alberta) both chipped in with seven kills, while graduate student Izzy Seebold (Concord, N.C.) handed out 40 assists. Sophomore Tatum Stelter (Glendale, Ariz.) led three players in double figures with a career-high 26 digs.

Junior Katie Kraczkowsky (Chicago, Ill.) contributed 10 kills, 20 digs and three blocks, while sophomore Gabbie O'Toole (Overland Park, Kan.) finished with 37 assists and 15 digs in the win for the Panthers. Junior Kelly Ferrero (San Francisco, Calif.) registered 21 digs and led all players with five aces in the match.

The Green and White responded to dropping the first set with a strong game-two performance to even the match. Jankovic Chin sparked an early 10-4 run with three consecutive kills and Babson led by as many as seven before staving off a late Middlebury rally with back-to-back kills by Jankovic Chin and Lapins to close out a 25-23 victory.

The Panthers answered back in the third jumping out a 9-5 lead and never allowing the Beavers to get closer than three in the stanza. Kraczkowsky and Linafelter combined for nine kills as Middlebury hit .310 to regain a one-set advantage.

Gips opened with a kill and combined on a block with Seebold to start game four before the Panthers rattled off a 17-3 run to build a commanding lead. Ambach produced four blocks and Kraczkowsky contributed two kills and a service ace during the spurt as the visitors led by as many as 13 in the set.

Both teams return to action beginning at 11 a.m. on Saturday in Cambridge as Babson faces No. 25 Tufts and Williams, while Middlebury takes on MIT and Springfield.

MATCH NOTES
• The Beavers are now 3-5 all-time against Middlebury and have dropped two straight matches in the series.
• Babson is 8-1 this season at home and Friday's loss dropped its record to 114-15 inside Staake Gymnasium during head coach Eric Neely's 11-year tenure.
• The Beavers are 3-3 on the year when dropping the opening set of the match.
• Babson is 8-10 all-time in the New England Challenge and Friday's loss was the first in five home tournament matches.